choc545

Hey guys. I'm doing the coolant transfer pipe. When I pulled the intake manifold off I was surprised to see a little oil between the gasket and manifold. Also, the ports looked dirtier then I thought they should be for handling just air/gas. That said is this normal? I've not taken off a manifold before and wasn't sure what I should expect.

Thanks,
Paul

choc545

Here is a picture if it helps.

Only Bimmers

Yes, normal. You should however replace your intake manifold seals due to age,etc. I was able to clean the area up with brake cleaner and rags. I then took my shop vac and sprayed brake cleaner down in the intake port for a second and used the flat attachment to put down each port and sucked out the fluid with any dirt and debris that had built up. Cleaned it up nicely without any issues. Took several rounds of this per port. Since you have Valvetronic, all ports are normally closed on the intake sides with the car shut off.

choc545

Fantastic. Thanks for the pointers on cleaning the ports!